Ashleigh Snyder
Clemson outfielder Dominic Listi celebrates in the Tigers' win over North Carolina A&T on Feb. 23.
In a series against No. 17 Louisville filled with clutch home runs, shutdown pitching and heart-pounding defense, the No. 2 Clemson Tigers showed exactly why they’re one of the teams to beat in the ACC.
The Tigers have won every series this season with a 2-1 series win over the Cardinals, surpassing Georgia Tech for first place in the ACC rankings.
In Game 1, the Tigers bounced back to beat the Cardinals 7-6 after a less-than-impressive start. The Cardinals then scored three unearned runs in the top of the first due to two Tigers’ errors. However, Clemson matched Louisville’s three runs in the bottom of the first on a home run by Collin Priest, his eighth of the season.
Louisville took back the lead in the second, scoring two runs. The Tigers cut the lead in half directly after, scoring on a wild pitch.
Trailing 5-4 in the seventh, Jarren Purify and Jacob Jarrell reached via an error and a walk, respectively. Jack Crighton, taking full advantage of Louisville’s mistakes, blasted a three-run homer to give the Tigers a big enough lead to secure their first win of the series.
The home run was the first of Crighton’s career and came at the perfect moment.
Jacob McGovern pitched a perfect seventh to record his second win of the season, and Lucas Mahlstedt pitched 1 2/3 innings to earn his 13th save of the year.
Looking to take the series the next day, the Tigers put Drew Titsworth on the mound, marking his first career start. Titsworth was lights out, pitching six scoreless innings while only allowing three hits.
The Cardinals’ pitching was also impressive, holding Clemson to just two runs.
The game’s first run came on a leadoff homer in the fifth inning by Jarrell. Luke Gaffney then added to the lead in the seventh, launching a run-scoring double.
With two outs in the ninth and the Cardinals trailing by two, Louisville third baseman Jake Munroe cut the Tigers’ lead in half, belting a home run to left field.
However, Mahlstedt struck out the next batter to earn his 14th save of the year and secure a Tigers series win. The closer is now one save away from tying the school record for saves in a single season.
On Saturday, looking for the sweep, Cam Cannarella gave the Tigers an early lead by belting a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Louisville answered back right away with Eddie King Jr. hitting a solo home run to make the score 2-1.
In the fourth, Cannarella continued to help out the Tigers, but on the defensive side this time. Louisville left fielder Eddie King Jr. rocketed a ball to deep center field, bidding for his second home run of the game. Cannarella, refusing to give up the lead he’d accomplished, leaped up into the wall to save King’s nearly game-tying home run.
With one out and bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Gaffney grounded out into a fielder’s choice, extending the Tigers’ lead to 3-1. In the next half inning, the Cardinals had two back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, which both came around to score on a ground out and a wild pitch to tie the game.
The game remained tied until the top of the ninth when Collin Mowry hit a bloop single into center field to score the lead run for Louisville.
Josh Paino, not accepting defeat, launched a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
In the bottom of the tenth with bases loaded, King Jr. was up to bat. Once again, he launched the ball deep into the outfield, but luckily it caught against the wall, limiting a potential grand slam to just a sacrifice fly. Another run came around to score on a single to right field, placing the Cardinals in the lead by two.
Jarrell ripped a line drive to left field with two runners on and two outs to score a run. Paino then reached base on an error, scoring the tying run. However, Louisville got the next Clemson batter out to send the game to the 11th.
The game remained stagnant until the 12th, when the Cardinals launched a two-run home run to take an 8-6 lead. The Tigers couldn’t make a comeback in the bottom of the 12th, giving Louisville the win.
The Tigers had multiple chances to add to the scoreboard throughout the game, leaving a total of 12 runners on base. Their struggle during these key offensive moments, and a few self-inflicted outs on the base path, ultimately led to their defeat.
Clemson will take a break from ACC play as they face the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, but will resume on Thursday in a series against NC State.